


worth the risk

by xogray



Series: percabeth oneshots [29]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Mortal, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Love Confessions, mentions of drinking, mentions of sex but like barely, the college thing isn't super important but its mainly for age references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:50:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26570176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xogray/pseuds/xogray
Summary: “you’re breaking your own heart annabeth. he makes you so happy and you know, some risks are worth taking. yes, you’d technically be giving him the power to potentially break your heart. but he’ll be giving you that same power. honestly, he already has given you that.”annabeth considered that for a moment and then was overcome with guilt when she realized piper was right. percy had taken the risk to tell annabeth how he felt about her and she did the one thing she was terrified of him doing to her. she dug her teeth into her lip. “i think,” she said quietly, “i wanna take that risk.”- or the one in which annabeth decides not having percy at all is a lot worse than being scared to have all of him
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: percabeth oneshots [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839274
Kudos: 116





	worth the risk

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [this post](https://blackjacktheboss.tumblr.com/post/612722098967887872/31-andor-44-percabeth-we-need-angst) !!

“don’t call percy!” piper called before slipping into her room.

and despite talking about him nonstop since her first drink, annabeth had planned to listen. she stumbled to her room, only tripping once. she considered that a victory with just how much alcohol she had in her system. she tossed herself on to her bed and closed her eyes, ready to sleep. she laid there for a total of 37 seconds before finding her phone in her sheets and pulling up percy’s contact.

she hesitated, looking at the little picture of them she had set as his contact picture. it was taken four months into knowing each other. their cheeks were squished together with annabeth’s arm slung around his shoulder and they both looked over the moon. annabeth smiled at the picture and she felt a tear slide down her face. she missed him so much even though she knew she had no right to. and she knew she’d regret it in the morning, but regardless, annabeth clicked the call button and put the phone up to her ear. she wasn’t even sure if she really wanted him to pick up.

he picked up. and he was silent for a moment. “annabeth?” he said quietly.

she almost sobbed at the sound of his voice. “hi,” she breathed. forcing herself to take silent deep breaths, she waited for him to speak. which probably wasn’t fair to him and she knew that. she had been the reason he ended things and now she was the one who called him unannounced. so she should’ve been the one to speak first.

“what..” he paused. annabeth bit her lip. “are you okay?” he asked.

“yeah,” she lied. “yeah. i just… i miss you.”

percy was silent again before sighing and whispering, “annabeth.”

words spilled out of her like a faucet. “i know. it’s not fair of me to. i know it’s not but i really do. and i just- i really needed to hear your voice. these past two months have been awful and i miss you. and i’m sorry because it’s not fair for me to say that, but i do.”

“i miss you too,” percy said quietly. thick tears ran down annabeth’s face. “but you can’t do this to me, beth.”

beth. she smiled at the nickname. he had given it to her a month into knowing her and she’d never allowed anyone else to call her that. she never cared for nicknames but the name beth coming from him always made her heart jump.

“i know,” she whispered.

“i… i do miss you. but i can't-” he sighed, “i can’t handle being around you if you aren’t in it 100%. and i told you i’d be okay with taking it slow, but i’m not okay with the whole friends with benefits thing. i can’t do that anymore.”

annabeth’s lip hurt from how hard she was biting it. “i know,” she whispered again. she wished more than anything that she could just let her walls down and be with him in the way he was asking. she knew she wanted to but it _terrified_ her.

percy took a deep breath. “i, uh, i need to sleep. i have a competition tomorrow,” he said. annabeth nodded even though he couldn’t see her.

“okay,” she said, her voice still just above a whisper. they were silent for a minute before she said, “goodnight percy.”

“goodnight beth.”

when she hung up, annabeth navigated her way to her photos app and pulled up another picture of them that piper had taken. it was a picture of them on the beach, annabeth on percy’s back. her arms hung loosely around his neck and his looped under her thighs, holding her up. both of them were beaming. that night, percy had confessed his feelings for annabeth, who couldn’t allow herself to admit she reciprocated them. four awkward and painful days after that, percy had ended their friendship and it was the most agonizing thing she’d experienced at the time.

but now, the last two months without him had been the most agonizing thing of her life. annabeth looked at the screen, captured by percy’s wide smile as he supported her weight. she couldn’t handle looking at the photo for more than a few seconds before a silent sob racked her body. she held the phone to her chest and allowed herself to quietly cry. in the muted darkness of her room, no one else had to know about her falling asleep with tears dried to her cheeks.

-

when she woke up, her face was puffy and her phone was dead. annabeth sat up, pleasantly surprised she had no headache. she plugged in her phone, did her morning routine, and met piper in their apartment’s tiny kitchen. she sat at their dining table and looked up at her best friend miserably.

“i called him,” she said. piper gave her a sympathetic smile and shook her head.

“i knew you would babe,” piper replied. annabeth groaned quietly and put her head in her hands, resting her elbows on the table.

“i miss him so much,” she said, her voice muffled by her hands. she heard piper sit down at another chair and set her mug on the table. tiny hands grabbed annabeth’s wrists and gently pulled her hands away from her face. piper smiled at her. she looked unfairly put together in the mornings. annabeth always looked like a mess. “and he misses me too,” she whispered.

“so what’s stopping you?” piper asked, knowing the answer. 

nonetheless, annabeth answered. “he’s serious about me, piper. and as much as i want to be serious about him… i’m so scared.”

“of?”

annabeth bit her lip. “serious relationships include giving someone your all. letting your walls down completely and giving them unrestrained access to your heart and you just… have to trust they won’t break it. and i’m just scared that will happen again.”

their coffee machine beeped and piper stood, quickly throwing together annabeth’s coffee. at this point, annabeth preferred the way piper made her coffee to the way she made it herself. piper sat back down and slid the black mug over to annabeth who took it with a grateful smile.

“you’ve been miserable without him,” piper stated. she wasn’t asking if it was true because she didn’t need to. it was obvious that annabeth was a wreck. “you’re breaking your own heart annabeth. he makes you so happy and you know, some risks are worth taking. yes, you’d technically be giving him the power to potentially break your heart. but he’ll be giving you that same power. honestly, he already has given you that.” 

annabeth considered that for a moment and then was overcome with guilt when she realized piper was right. percy had taken the risk to tell annabeth how he felt about her and she did the one thing she was terrified of him doing to her. she dug her teeth into her lip. “i think,” she said quietly, “i wanna take that risk.” piper’s smile grew.

“you’re telling that to the wrong person.”

-

every bit of fear annabeth had felt about this was violently present in the ten seconds it took from her knocking on the door to percy opening it. but after her conversation with piper yesterday morning, she was becoming more and more aware of how percy must’ve felt when he told her about his feelings for her. except annabeth had the comfort of already knowing he reciprocated her feelings, assuming he still did. percy had gone in blind, telling her how he felt with no clue what her reaction might be.

the door swung open and annabeth held her breath as he looked at her, confused. he was silent for 13 seconds (annabeth counted) before hesitantly saying, “annabeth?”

“can i come in?” she asked quietly. if she was gonna confess her feelings, she would’ve preferred to do it in the privacy of his apartment, not the hallway. he simply nodded and moved to the side to let her in. the door shut behind her and she faced him. he was still looking at her with an adorably confused expression.

“what’s, uh,” he said quietly, studying her carefully, “what’s up?”

she took a deep breath. it was now or never. “when i was eighteen, i fell in love with this guy who, in the end, shattered my heart. like with no remorse, happily destroyed it. and since then, i haven’t allowed myself to even come close to liking someone like that. until you walked into my life with your insanely pretty eyes and your stupid smile that i love. and i like you. percy, i like you so much and it terrifies the hell out of me. 

“and i have liked you but i’ve been so scared to admit it, even to myself. but i’ve been miserable these past couple months and it’s made me realize that i can’t just pretend that i don’t like you. because _god,_ i do. so much. and honestly, i’m still so scared. but i can’t… god i can’t…” she trailed off with a heavy breath, not knowing how to complete her thought.

percy watched her silently. he was leaning against his door with his arms crossed. “can’t what?” he asked gently. they looked at each other for a moment. his green eyes studied her and as she looked at him, some of the fear annabeth felt was replaced with comfort.

“i can’t not take the risk, percy,” she said. she slowly walked towards him as she spoke. “liking you scares me so much but i… i want to be with you. if you’ll still have me.” she stood front of him now, making eye contact but not touching him. “i would need you to be patient with me because something like this terrifies me to no end. but i’m… i’m all in. i promise.”

annabeth bit her lip as he looked at her intently. maybe to see if she was serious, if she meant it. she had a brief thought that maybe he was trying to let her down easy or tell her he was already done with her. the thought disappeared though when he uncrossed his arms and set his hands on her waist.

“you’re all in?” he asked. hope blossomed in her chest as his lips turned up the slightest bit. she placed her hands on his biceps and nodded.

“i’m all in.”

his arm tightened around her waist, the other coming up to cup her jaw as he pulled her into a kiss. annabeth’s arms curled around his neck, bringing herself even closer. she smiled against his lips. two months of heartache melted away. when they eventually broke away, percy was beaming at her and annabeth decided piper was right. some risks were worth taking.


End file.
